Becoming a professional artist is hard (much like becoming a professional writer or musician) and it takes a LOT of hard work, effort, knowledge, research, AND, a little bit of luck. Sometimes, the big break you need just so happens to fall in your lap, you just have to be smart enough, and motivated enough to grab it. More often than not, you have to make your own luck.
Part of the problem with becoming a professional artist is that MOST people who are not in the art community (or music or writing community, because they are very similar) don’t see art as a profession. They don’t think or art as a “real” job, and some people have even called my degree in art a “hobby” degree. Art is NOT a hobby. Not for me and not for any other artist who wants to be, or who is, a professional. This is NOT something we do because it is fun (even though it is) or to kill time. For me, it is an actual compulsion. I go to bed thinking about the next project, or how to get the color or texture I want, or how to make that sketch in my book WORK instead of just being so so, I often dream about art, and I wake up with so many ideas that I have to write or sketch them out before I even speak to anyone else for fear that I will lose them. If I can not do art I am fundamentally unhappy and I am good enough at it that I can sell it.
Part of the problem is also the fact that, to make it professionally as an artist you HAVE to make painting (or drawing, or sculpting, or whatever your choice of medium is) the priority, and you HAVE to get yourself to a postion that you can do it full time. I have (and am) worked at a job and then trying to paint in my spare time. It is exhausting, and most days I just didn’t have the energy to paint. You CAN NOT become a professional doing that all the time. There is simply not enough hours in the day. If I had not been a sub, I would not have had the time to meet the deadline I had on Thursday. You MUST treat your art as your job. That means you get up in the morning and go to work. You sit and you paint, or you sketch, or you research, or you do your business end of the work (keeping up the website, doing the books, making sure things are shipped correctly and on time, etc) and you do it for the whole day. If there is something you don’t want to do, you suck it up and do it anyway, or you don’t make it. I don’t particularly like to paint Western art or rodeo stuff, which is not a knock AT ALL to this type of art, it is just not my favorite subject (probably because I have been around it in some way, shape, or form, for my entire life and so I am used to it and don’t recognize why someone would want to spend money on it when I could just ask my Dad or someone to make me some, or take a picture). I have commissions for them, though, and so I am doing them. And losing sleep to meet those deadlines, and doing more research than I really like to do to make sure my horses are correct or that the bull looks like a bull, or that the cowboy LOOKS like a cowboy and not just someone in a hat. I am doing them in a way that makes me happy and is true to my art, but, really, I have other projects (like the mermaids and the corset angels) that I would rather be working on.
Pajamafin actually sent me some really good links referring to this yesterday (which was really nice, since I have been composing this post in my head for two days now). Go here and here for the articles. They are REALLY good, and if you are interested in being a professional AT ALL you should DEFINITELY go read them. And while we are on the subject of friends offering up help, if a friend is offering to do the leg work to find you galleries that are accepting work, TAKE THEM UP ON IT (I know, Pajamafin, you’ve done this and I haven’t submitted anything so I am not taking my own advice. I will with the new work, I just didn’t think the older stuff was gallery ready. For everyone reading this, if you don’t have art that is gallery ready, GET WITH IT. This includes me).
Another problem that I have to deal with (and that a lot of my artist, writer, and musician friends have to deal with) is conveying to our other friends, and even family, that our craft is our job. I get calls all the time from friends and family who want to hang out, and when I say, “Sorry, I can’t, I am painting” they actually get their feelings hurt or, in some cases, get mad. They don’t see my art as my job, and, therefore, think that I should just drop it and go do the fun thing, and then go back to the painting. And, to be honest, sometimes I do, partly because there are times that I just want to be away from the work for a couple of hours, I WANT to do the fun thing, and, because I don’t want to hurt their feelings. I have had to have several very awkward, difficult heart to hearts with family and friends to get them to understand that ART is what I want to do for a living, and that when I say I am painting, I am WORKING. Just like I can’t blow off teaching a class to go to the zoo, I can’t blow off painting to catch a movie. I also told them that there are times that, while painting, I have to wait for a layer to dry, so if they want to come over and hang out until that happens, we can watch a movie here, and they are welcome, but they have to be prepared to read a book or somehow otherwise entertain themselves until the painting gets to that stage (since, generally, the t.v. is off while I am painting. When painting, I am a music only type girl. T.V. optional if I am sketching as that doesn’t take the same concentration). Again, they have to act like I am at WORK.
Also, if you are trying to be a professional artist, there are a few things you should get. One, you should get a DBA. This is a Doing Business As, and it is a way to have a company name without dropping a ton of cash (it is between 20 and 30 bucks to get and lasts ten years). It is also good to get for copyright reasons. My DBA is for LookLookAir Productions. This means that I own it, and if anyone uses it, or anything with LookLookAir on it without my permission, I can take legal action. Also, you should look into copyrighting your work. You can get together packets of work and send them in online to get them copyrighted and it is very affordable. Click here for a brief overview.
There are also websites. Make sure, if you have a website, that you have ON EVERY PAGE, something that says Copyright by ^insert name^ and the year. This is a version of the poor man’s copyright, and is legal. It is like mailing a copy to yourself and then not opening it. It is a good idea to do both this and the actual copyright above, but knowing that money is tight, the poor man’s copyright is a good way to go.
Also, if you are going to be a professional artist, you should look into Lawyers for the ARTS for your state. If you are in Texas, click here for the TALA (this link will also be in the Artist’s Corner). This is a really good thing, and what it does is provide lawyer services for artists. There is a membership fee for artists in Texas (you have to check with your state for fees that may apply) but it is between 50 and 75 dollars for a year and with it you get people who will help you with copyright law, read over contracts so that you don’t get screwed, help you deal with clients who try to break the contracts, file your taxes correctly, and much more. I would say that this is a must for anyone who is going to make their living doing art. It is insurance that you aren’t on your own trying to protect your interests.
And with that, I am going back to paint. I have a couple of small pieces due Tuesday and a commission due Tuesday, and, even though I like to be off on the weekends, with Monday being a holiday I will be going over to my parents for dinner (holidays are not acceptable to work on in my family, even if it is art) and would like to be done before then so I can actually go to bed Monday night.
